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The restaurant in Petty Harbour Nfld that always made the best lobster rolls I have ever eaten disappointed me for the first time this past July.  Because of that, I decided I wanted to make rolls that I could use to make shrimp rolls.  Lobster is crazy expensive at the moment and my partner isn’t a fan of it, so why bother with lobster.  I wanted to make the rolls so that two sides could be toasted in butter on my cast iron skillet.  The slice in each roll would be vertically cut rather than horizontally so these would not be hotdog buns.  This is what I came up with.

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Instructions

Levain

Mix the levain ingredients in a jar or pyrex container with space for at least 300% growth. 

Press down with your knuckles or silicone spatula to create a uniform surface and to push out air.

At a temperature of 76-78ºF, it typically takes up to 10-12 hours for this sweet stiff levain to be at peak.  For my starter I typically see 3-3.5 times increase in size at peak.  The levain will smell sweet with only a mild tang.

Tangzhong 

In a sauce pan set on medium heat, stir the milk and whole wheat flour until blended. Then cook for several minutes until well thickened, stirring regularly with a spoon or heat-resistant spatula. Let cool in the pan or, for faster results, in a new bowl.  Theoretically it should reach 65ºC (149ºF) but I don’t find I need to measure the temperature as the tangzhong gelatinizes at this temperature.  You can prepare this the night before and refrigerate it, ensure that it is covered to prevent it from drying out.

If you plan on using a stand mixer to mix this dough, set up a Bain Marie and use your stand mixer’s bowl to prepare the tangzhong.

Dough

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the milk (consider holding back 10 g of milk and adding later if this is the first time you’re making this), egg, tangzhong, salt, sugar and levain.  Mix and then break up the levain into many smaller pieces.  Next add the flour.  I like to use my spatula to mix until there aren’t many dry areas.  Allow the flour to hydrate (fermentolyse) for 20-30 minutes.  Mix on low speed and then medium speed until moderate gluten development this may take 5-10 mins.  You may want to scrape the sides of the bowl during the first 5 minutes of mixing.  Next add room temperature butter one pat at a time.  The dough may come apart, be patient, continue to mix until it comes together before adding in more butter.  Again, knead until well incorporated.  You will want to check gluten development by windowpane during this time and stop mixing when you get a good windowpane.  You should be able to pull a good windowpane, not quite as good as a white flour because the bran will interrupt the windowpane somewhat.  Add the nuts and seeds, then mix again until they are well distributed.

On the counter, shape the dough into a tight ball, cover in the bowl and ferment for 2 - 4 hours at 82ºF.  There should be some rise visible at this stage.

You can next place the dough into the fridge to chill the dough for about 1.5 hours, this makes rolling the dough easier to shape.  Remember, if you do so the final proof will take longer.  Alternatively, you can do a cold retard in the fridge overnight, however, you may find that this increases the tang in your bread.

Prepare your pan by greasing it with butter or line with parchment paper.  

Lightly oil the top of the dough. Scrape the dough out onto a clean counter top and divide it into six. I like to weigh them to have equal sized buns. Shape each tightly into a boule, allow to rest 5 mins. Next form each boule into a roll by first flattening it out, then rolling it up pinching the ends if you like smooth ends.  Place them side by side in a pan that supports the side, the ends are fine unsupported by the pan.

Cover and let proof for  4-6 hours at a warm temperature.  I proof at 82°F.  You will need longer than 4-6 hours if you chilled your dough for shaping. I proof until the dough passes the poke test.  

Preheat the oven to 350F and brush the dough with the egg-milk wash.  Just prior to baking brush with the egg-milk wash again.

Bake the loaves for 30-35 minutes or until the internal temperature is at least 190ºF, rotating as needed to get even browning. Shield your loaf if it gets brown early in the baking process.  Cool on a rack and while warm brush with butter if you want the crust to be soft.  You can also place them in a plastic bag while they are still warm (not hot).

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My index of bakes

Well, after three test batches, my English Muffins were proclaimed ready for prime time by the taste testers here at my place! I'm really happy with these.  The right softness and chew in the crumb.  A bit of bite in the crust.  Nooks and crannies are just made for butter and jam!  ....and the flavor is really good.  Just a bit of sour tanginess to bring everything together.  I will note that much of the process, and a base for the starting recipe came from The Buttered Side up blog/site (EM Recipe)

Here's where I settled up for the formula (% include the flour/water in the levain):

Bread flour (CM ABC+) 70%

AP flour (Ardent) 15%

CM Red Spring (fresh milled) 7.5%

CM White Winter (fresh milled) 7.5%

Honey (local/fresh) 1%

Butter 2.5%

Water 75%

Salt 1.8%

Pre-fermented flour 10%

I hand mixed this batch starting with everything except the butter and salt.  After hydrating all the flour, and resting 20 minutes, I used the pinch method to incorporate the salt.  I smeared some of the butter on the dough, and incorporated with stretch/folds, repeating until all the butter was well mixed.  Another 70-80 minutes of RT proof included a couple more stretch/fold sessions followed by a 40 hour cold bulk phase (my recipe actually calls for just 20-24 hours, but I was busy in the bakery yesterday, so I made the dough wait!

This morning, I scaled the dough out into 100g balls, bench rested, tightened the balls up again, then onto parchment squares dusted with corn meal.  After a 2.5 hour rise, I cooked them on a fairly hot griddle (400-425°) for about 3 minutes, flipped for another three minutes, then finished in the oven for 10 minutes @ 350°.  Cooled, fork split, then toasted and enjoyed with butter on half, and jam on the other.

These are just perfectly suited to my tastes!  I've got a couple of friends beta testing them for me, too, so pending feedback, I'm calling these ready to go!

 In my new mixer first cab off the rank was 1800g fruit dough so about half as much again as usual. the new mixer managed it easily. I have been eating a few date recently and they are the cheapest dried fruit at our local Aldi store plus i love them  i got to think if i blitzed them in the liquidizer i could get a paste that i could use in scrolls so thats what i did, i did need to add a little water to obtain a workable paste.

going to need a bigger a bigger proofing container

dates paste showing up nicely a fine sprinkle of cinnamon sugar  was also in there. The scrolls went for our living longer living stronger exercise group on the occasion of my wife's 71 st birthday. the picture above is one of the small loaves sliced up . definitely be using the date paste again!

 You Often see CHRISTMAS IN JULY themes  which seem to especially appeal to some of us that have moved from cold winter climates to the other side of the Equator. A better time to  enjoy a hot roast dinner and its trimmings rather than December days here  when a salad and an early morning swim at the beach which is more the norm .

Well it certainly seemed like CHRISTMAS IN JULY when this little present turned up, it wasn't wrapped in fancy paper nor adorned with a bow, but i was just as excited as you see the grand daughters when Santa has stopped by their house

        !

 i purchased an electric  honey spinner from this mob before and it worked perfectly and helped me to harvest 18 kgs of honey fro my first year as a bee keeper (looking forward to the up and coming season with lots of flowers and weeds growing well and the warmer days returning.

i digress the Spiral mixer is 8litre or 3kg dough capacity its fairly basic with a single speed and a non removable spiral and bowl but no problem to clean especially if you do it as soon as you have finished the mix.

I have mixed 2 doughs so far  a Cinnamon Scroll dough where i used  a paste made from dates in the scrolls and the other one was a Toasted Lupin Flake dough i will pot those up soon as soon as i have reduced the picture size 

Still working on these.  Getting close, but not quite there yet.  My formula is essentially unchanged from last time, though I did remember the butter this time!  Used my Ankarsrum mixer to get these mixed up, and that was a breeze.  Overnight cold bulk followed by about a 2 hour RT proof after shaping.  I experimented with cooking these in the oven, on a stone, covered @ 350°......that worked fine, except that they got NO color (even with no cover for half the time.)  I ended up firing up the griddle on the stove pretty hot to just quickly get them some color.

Fork split one, and it's pretty good, but I think maybe a touch longer on the RT proof and the crumb will be where I want it.  All in all, I'm happier with this batch than the last, and I think I'm close!  Taste testing will commence shortly.... :)

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 So I was up at 5am, starting my polenta sourdough. Bubbly starter, in with flour and polenta from the polenta tin. Hmmmm, dough is really tight, add more water. 30 mins later, dough even tighter. More water. Another wait, then.... yep, more water. Three hours with stretch and folds, tighter and tighter, finally give in and bench rest sad little lumps of partially risen dough.

Puzzled,  check polenta tin. Funny, the label says Powdered Gelatine. So That’s where the water went. 

Well, it’s been roughly shaped into boules and is in the final rise but..... hope springs eternal in the human breast eh? Meanwhile, build another starter and retire, grumbling.

At work we where buying that burger buns description from outside now they want those rolls to be made on our own how can I decode that bun recipe to create a soft potato burger rolls recipe close to or more than please help 

I make a delicious masa harina skillet cornbread.  The masa harina vs cornmeal brings a tasty, subtle flavor. because I like it so much, I've been thinking about trying a sourdough bread with masa harina, and now I've tried it.  I was surprised how easy it was.

There have been some other posts on this site about cornmeal or corn flour bread, and now I'm adding my own.  First, some pictures, then the formula.

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All baker's percentages for this formula are based on the added flour not including flour in the starter. This flour added up to 10 oz, a small loaf but good for experimenting.

- Masa harina: 35%

- KA bread flour: 65%

- starter (white, 100% hydration): 20%

- liquid: about 100% (see below)

- salt: 2%

- beaten egg: 15% (1 US large egg)

- sugar: 3%

The hydration is unsure because I started at 85% (masa harina can really soak up the water) and added "enough" more without actually measuring it.  The added liquid was going to be milk, but I didn't have any so I used a mixture of half-and-half with water (for non-US readers, half-and-half is a near-cream with fat content between  light cream and milk).

The egg is there to provide some extra structure to try to make up for the lack of gluten in the masa harina.

Mix by hand, rest 1/2 hour, initial knead and stretch.  3 S&F sessions during the first part of the 5 1/2 hour bulk ferment.  Form the loaf, proof 1 hour, bake with steam at 450 deg, reducing to 430 after 20 minutes.  Baked 36 minutes to an internal temperature of 208 deg F.

This is basically my standard day-in, day-out sourdough process.

I didn't know how long to proof for since with the masa harina in the dough I knew its properties would be different from a wheat bread. In the end, the load depressed without springing back when I gently touched it with my finger, but I thought it could go a little longer so I gave it another 10 or 15 minutes.

You can see the loaf developed fabulous ears and had a good amount of expansion.  The crumb is surprisingly open, although the loaf is on the dense side.  It weighed in at 18 oz, whereas an all-purpose flour loaf of this size would be about 16 oz.  Maybe it's the 1.5 oz of egg...

The bread slices well. It has a mild pleasant taste with the corn obvious but not overwhelming.  The crust is chewy rather than crisp or crunchy (despite its appearance).  The crumb is very chewy (not tough, but it stays in the mouth as you chew) so thin slices would be best.

I'm very happy with the way it turned out, the dough was pleasant and easy to work with, and I will probably increase the masa harina content next time to (gulp) 50%.

Inspired by Tony (CalBeachBaker) I decided to make a batch of taralli this evening.  I made minor changes such as subbing in 10% whole red fife flour and using rosemary and ground peppercorns instead of fennel seeds.  They are really easy to make and quite enjoyable to eat.  I’d reduce the rosemary from 8 g to perhaps 6 g in the next batch as the rosemary was quite strong.

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AP flour 260 g

Whole Red Fife 30 g (or any other whole grain or use all AP flour)

Sea salt 7 g

Rosemary 8 g

Ground peppercorns 1.5 g

White Wine 140 g

Olive oil 54 g

Rosemary was a bit too strong, reduce to 6 g and increase the ground peppercorns.

Boil salted water in a large skillet.

Preheat the oven to 375°F with a rack in the center of the oven.

To the bowl of your food processor, add all the dry ingredients (flours, salt, herbs/spices).  Process for several seconds to distribute everything evenly.

With the food processor running drizzle in the oil and wine in a steady stream.  Once all the liquid has been added continue to run the food processor until the the mixture forms a dough.

Remove your dough from the food processor and knead it by hand a few times to smooth it out.  You should have a smooth soft somewhat tacky dough ball.

The recipe makes about 25 Taralli.  If you wish to make them evenly sized you’ll want to weight your dough to determine the weight of each dough you’ll need for each Taralli.  Once you have divided the dough, roll each out with slightly tapered ends.  Form a circle pressing the ends together.

Once the water is boiling, add several Taralli at a time to the pot, each time swirling the water so they don’t stick to the bottom of the pot or to each other.  Don’t add too many otherwise the temperature of the water will fall too much.  I boiled mine in two batches.  The taralli will float at the top of the water once they are ready to be removed.  Using a slotted spoon remove them and place them in a single layer on a kitchen towel to absorb excess water.  

Once they are all done and the oven is ready, bake them at 375°F for 30-35 mins until they are a golden brown.  Let them cool then store them in an airtight container.

 My index of bakes.

I made up a large batch of my Cheddar/Thyme bread Sunday for customers.  I just love this bread!  I find it fun to mix in the inclusions, as it breaks up the monotony of just folding. :)  I had to add an extra baking day this week, as this formula has become quite popular!  My daughter made sure that I baked an extra for us to have, too. :)

Formula (percentages inclusive of flour/water in levain):

Bread Flour (CM ABC+) 60%

AP Flour (Ardent) 30%

CM Red Spring (fresh milled) 5%

CM White Winter (fresh milled) 5%

Sharp Cheddar, shredded 20%

Thyme, dried .5%

Water 77%

Salt 2%

Levain 20%

I mix together everything except the salt until all is moistened, then let rest for 30 minutes.  After 30 minutes I add the salt (pinch in with fingers), then stretch/slap fold about 10 times.  Rest 25 minutes, perform coil folds (usually twice around), then rest again for 25 minutes.  If the dough is feeling strong, I'll add inclusions now, otherwise just coil fold again and rest for 25.  Inclusions go in now if not before.  I add the inclusions by covering half the dough, folding over, flatten a bit, cover half the dough, fold over, repeat until all inclusions are in.  This counts as my fold for this time period.  Perform another coil fold or two on 25 minute intervals as needed.

Total bulk on these loaves was just under four hours with a dough temp of ~80-81° (it was hot.)  Divided @ 1kg and pre-shaped.  Rested while I prepped my bannetons, then shaped, rolled in WW flour/rice flour @ 50/50 mix, rested at RT for 30 minutes, then into fridge.  Baked @ 475° after a 16 hour retarded proof, 15 minutes steam, 25 minutes without.

Man this bread always makes the house smell amazing!  The aroma of the baking cheese and thyme is intoxicating!

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